STJ reinstates MEC penalties for low-performing medical courses in Enamed

The Superior Tribunal of Justice (STJ) issued a preliminary injunction on Wednesday (19) that overturned a prior judicial decision suspending penalties imposed by the Ministry of Education (MEC) on medical courses with unsatisfactory results in the first edition of the National Medical Training Evaluation Exam (Enamed). The ruling reinstates sanctions against institutions that performed poorly in the exam, which evaluates the quality of medical education in Brazil.

The initial suspension of penalties was granted in early August by the president of the Federal Regional Court of the 1st Region, Judge Maria do Carmo Cardoso. At the time, entities representing universities subject to sanctions celebrated the decision, arguing that the evaluation rules lacked transparency.

The Enamed is an annual exam administered by the MEC through the National Institute of Educational Studies and Research Anísio Teixeira (Inep) to assess the quality of medical training. In its first edition, published in January, 107 of the 351 evaluated courses received scores of 1 or 2-considered unsatisfactory and subject to penalties.

Controversy over the legality of the penalties arose after the first exam in 2025, when the MEC announced the evaluation criteria only after the test was administered. Private higher education institutions, represented by the Brazilian Association of Higher Education Institutions (Abmes) and the Brazilian Association of Faculties (Abrafi), filed a lawsuit to invalidate the sanctions, claiming a lack of transparency.

Following the STJ's recent decision, the MEC stated in a note that its precautionary measures and oversight actions aim to improve the quality of medical courses and ensure the excellence of future doctors.

## Penalties imposed by Enamed

According to the original exam guidelines, the following sanctions were applied to institutions with poor performance:

| **Penalty** | **Number of Affected Facilities** | |-------------|----------------------------------| | Complete suspension of student intake and exclusion from federal programs (Fies, etc.) | 8 | | 50% reduction in student intake and suspension from federal programs | 13 | | 25% reduction in student intake and suspension from federal programs | 33 | | Ban on increasing student intake | 45 |

## ABMES statement

The Brazilian Association of Higher Education Institutions (ABMES), which represents private higher education institutions nationwide, acknowledged the STJ's decision. The association stated that its legal team is reviewing the ruling and will assess appropriate measures. ABMES also affirmed that it will continue to monitor the issue with institutional responsibility.